This invention relates to medical cameras and in particular to a novel camera platform which provides enhanced usability to the operating room environment.
One of the advances in recent years in surgical procedures is the availability of specialized imaging devices. These devices provide a surgeon with a view of the area of the body being worked on without the necessity of fully opening up the area, thereby allowing for less invasive surgical procedures. Generally, these devices consist of a hand-held video camera and illuminator module. This camera unit interfaces to an optical cable, which can be inserted into the body and provide an optical path without opening up the entire area.
Because of the requirements to be compatible with the operating room environment and the specific needs as to illumination and handling by the surgeon, these imaging devices are highly customized devices. Both the camera units and the electronic interface units are purpose-specific designs. As such, to date, particularly the interface units provide very rudimentary functionality. Set-up, control, image display, and image capture capabilities in existing medical camera platforms are generally inconvenient at best. The usability of these imaging devices could be significantly improved, leading to more efficient use of medical personnel and better surgical results. Thus it is the object of this invention to provide a medical camera platform with improved functionality in the areas of, integrated video over IP, remote access, image display, image capture, camera set-up and camera operation.